Africa needs stronger digital payment links to unlock regional trade – Femi Osinbajo

Professor Yemi Osinbajo, a former Vice-President of Nigeria, has called for stronger cooperation among African countries to improve cross-border payments, strengthen digital integration and support trade and investment across the continent.

He said although African countries had made progress in developing domestic payment systems, transferring money across borders remained difficult and costly for traders, businesses and individuals.

Prof. Osinbajo was speaking at the opening of the Mobex Africa Conference 2026 on the theme: ” Resetting Africa’s Digital Identity and Sovereignty from Promise to Practice.”

He said some transactions still depended on correspondent banking arrangements outside the countries involved, often introducing additional intermediaries and costs.

The former Vice-President said the challenges could undermine efforts to deepen regional economic integration and expand opportunities for businesses operating across national borders.

He said initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area and digital transformation programmes demonstrated the continent’s commitment to integration, but their success depended partly on efficient, secure and accessible payment systems.

He called for stronger collaboration among central banks, financial institutions, governments, and other relevant authorities to improve connections between national payment systems.

He said integration required more than technical partnerships, stressing the importance of trust, common standards and effective regulatory cooperation among African countries.

The former Vice-President said digital integration must also protect financial stability and ensure that improved connectivity did not introduce risks into national financial systems.

He urged governments to establish supportive policy environments, while central banks strengthened the resilience of financial infrastructure and financial institutions developed services that responded to the needs of households and businesses.

He said digital financial services could create opportunities for traders and small businesses by improving access to financial information and enabling lenders to make better-informed decisions.

He, however, stressed the need to protect customers, ensure fair lending terms and provide safeguards when technology failed or payment transactions encountered problems.

The former Vice-President said accessible digital identification and straightforward verification processes were also important to making financial services available to more people.

He noted that concerns about data exposure and increased visibility to authorities could discourage some traders from participating in formal digital financial systems.

He called for safeguards to protect personal and business information and ensure that users could benefit from digital services without compromising their privacy or rights.

Mr Owureku Asare, Director of the Fintech and Innovation Office at the Bank of Ghana, highlighted Ghana’s experience in developing payment infrastructure to improve connectivity among banks, microfinance institutions and other service providers.

He said Ghana’s experience demonstrated that public investment, strong institutional leadership and enabling regulation could support secure and accessible payment systems while allowing financial institutions to innovate and compete.

Mr Asare said Ghana remained committed to working with other central banks, regional institutions and industry partners to improve the efficiency and connectivity of payment systems across Africa.